David nodded, then said shyly, "You still haven't told me what to call you."
"I haven't, have I?" Friedrich said, amused. "Under the circumstances, I see little point in you calling me High Seer. My name is Friedrich, but … once, back in the days when I was a boy, they called me Fritz. I think that will suffice."
"Fritz," David repeated and smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for helping me—helping Sasha."
"The pleasure and honor are mine," Fritz replied with a smile.
David followed Fritz through the streets of Raven Knoll, along the main street and then up the high, black stone steps to the looming temple of Unheilvol. "That's it?" he asked, not certain if he was impressed or terrified.
"Unheilvol," Fritz said. "I love it and hate it in equal measure. The dark seat of Teufel's will, though it was never meant to be anything more than a place for those who sought knowledge to find it."
"You mean it didn't always tell fates?"
"It did, but not the whole of them, or the darkest of them. Once, people were told what they needed to hear to help them flourish and be happy, not what would keep them meek—defeated," Fritz replied. He started to say more, but as they reached the top of the steps, a crowd of Seers and Sorcerers clustered around them.
David immediately recognized the man in the lead—Karl, Fritz had called him, the man who had taken Sasha. "Where's Sasha?" he demanded, stepping up to stand beside Fritz and glaring at Karl. "What have you done with him?"
Sneering at him, Karl said, "The intruder is none of your concern. Be grateful I do not have you whipped for your blasphemous behavior. Did you think showing up here with
him
would make a difference? Arrest them both."
"Nobody is arresting me," Fritz said in clear, ringing tones. "Master Seer, bring Sasha to me in my prayer room."
Karl's skin drained of color before darkening with anger. "You're—"
"Sane? Back to normal? Yes," Fritz said. "You should have killed me when you had the chance, Karl. But ah, yes—you can't kill me. You need me to get into Sonnenstrahl."
"You light-forsaken bastard!" Karl snarled, torchlight glinting off his knife as he pulled from his belt.
Fritz lifted his hands, palms out, and said,
"Dark of heart, dark of mind, and so in darkness find respite."
Karl's face filled with unadulterated hate in the moment before he dropped to the ground, knife clattering on the marble to finally stop at Fritz's feet. He kicked it away, then gestured sharply to the men who stood gawking at them. "Lock him up. Find the prisoner recently taken and bring him to me at once."
"Yes, High Seer!" The men grabbed Karl's prone body and hauled him away, while other priests vanished as quickly as they could, eager for Fritz to forget that they had ever sided against him. Fritz ignored them, and David could only race to keep up as he stormed through the halls of the temple.
"David! David! Is that you? David!"
David froze at the sound of the familiar voice and whipped around in disbelief. "Killian?"
Laughing in delight, Killian threw himself at David, holding him tightly. "I can't believe it—you're alive! I made it all the way here and couldn't find you, and I heard from one of the caravans that you'd run off into the snow on some wild shadow hunt and yet here you are!" He leaned up and gave David a quick, shy kiss. "I'm so glad you're alive."
"Me, too," David said quietly, staring at him. Killian looked so young, even younger than he had before. He looked different somehow, but David could not figure out what it was exactly that had changed. "It's good to see you again, Killian. What are you doing here?"
Sorrow abruptly filled Killian's face. "Um. Black Hill is gone. Something happened to the new barrier that light-forsaken—"
"Killian," David cut in with a warning tone.
"Anyway," Killian pressed on. "The barrier fell. The Sentinels got in. Not many of us survived, and then the Sentinels came to Oak Hill where we had fled. Nothing is left of Black Hill or Oak Hill. We think Deer Run was destroyed as well. All that's left is here in Unheilvol."
"Destroyed…" Tears filled David's eyes. "That can't be! Not the whole village! Maja?"
Killian just shook his head. "Gone."
"Is everything all right?" Fritz asked, making David jump.
He turned, wiping at his tears. "Oh, I'm sorry, Fritz. Um. This is Killian, my friend. We grew up in Black Hill together. He says—he says the Sentinels destroyed it. All of it, and Deer Run and Oak Hill."
Fritz's face filled with sorrow. "I am sorry," he said. "I hope that very soon we will have control over Schatten again and these tragedies will be put to an end." He looked at Killian. "I am happy you survived. You must be a good lad if David calls you friend."
"I'm his best friend," Killian said, and stood tall. "He never should have left home without me." He glared accusingly at David, then asked, "Have you heard your fate yet?"
"Yes," David said quietly. "We'll have to talk more later, though, Killian. Right now we are going to see—" He broke off when a familiar figure appeared at the end of the hall. Unable to believe it, relief hit him so hard that he began to tremble.
Forgetting everyone and everything else around him, David raced down the hallway to throw himself into Sasha's waiting arms. He buried his face in Sasha's throat. "Sasha."
"David," Sasha said. "You're all right." His fingers twined in David's hair, gently tugged his head up, and then his mouth took David's in a kiss that burned away all the agony of the past several hours, soothed every ache. "I'm glad you're safe, sweet. What in the world is going on? I was told a High Seer Friedrich wanted …" he trailed off as Fritz reached them, with Killian trailing behind.
David recoiled from the hate in Killian's eyes, feeling awful and guilty that he was clearly happier to see Sasha than he had been to see Killian. That he couldn't return Killian's feelings. "Killian—"
"I guess I'll see you later," Killian snarled and shoved past him, racing back down the hall and vanishing before David could stop him or call after him. He frowned after him, feeling miserable.
A familiar, soothing hand curled over his shoulder, drawing his attention back to Sasha, who smiled reassuringly. "You'll work it out. Boys like that burn hot and so burn out quickly. He won't want to lose a friend. You can talk to him later and work it all out. Come, I want to speak more with Friedrich and make plans for Sonnenstrahl."
David hesitated, staring again down the hall where Killian had vanished, feeling wretched. Would Killian ever forgive him? He fought an urge to go after him and followed Fritz and Sasha down the hall and into a room that held nothing but a table with a candle and bowl on it. The walls gleamed where the light from the candles fell, and David wondered if he was the only one who found the entire black temple unsettling. He had always thought Unheilvol would be a warm, welcoming place.
Instead, it somehow reminded him of the day they had walked up the mountain to cast Reimund's ashes to the wind. His chest ached suddenly at the thought of Reimund. He had been so busy he'd had little time to think of anything except Sasha, Sentinels, and snow. What would Reimund think of all he was doing? Would he be proud, or just annoyed at the waste of time and energy?
He looked up at Sasha's familiar touch to his cheek. "Why so sad?" Sasha asked quietly.
"I … something made me think of Reimund. Killian is here because Sentinels destroyed our village, Oak Hill, and Deer Run. They're all dead. I was thinking how this place reminded me of the day we cast Reimund's ashes. It reminds me of death, and I couldn't figure out why a temple devoted to fate would make me think of death. Is that strange?"
Sasha pulled him close and David went easily, gladly, soothed as always by the warmth of Sasha, the way they seemed to fit together perfectly. "I'm so glad you're safe," Sasha murmured. "I saw that whip strike you—"
"I saw you collapse," David replied. "I wanted to run back to you, but I had to keep running away. I don't like running away from you. I did that once—twice now. I don't want to do it again." He wasn't even certain what he was saying, but the words only made Sasha nod and draw him in for a kiss.
When they finally drew apart, Sasha said, "Wherever we run, we'll do it together, I promise."
David nodded, something in him easing, and he leaned against Sasha and just soaked up his warmth until he heard the door open and the smell of tea and food made his stomach growl. He reluctantly pulled away from Sasha and watched while priests came in and out with table, chairs, and a tray of food.
Fritz beckoned them to sit and poured them all tea. "I have been waiting quite some time to meet you, child of chaos. Teufel has ordered me to take you to him in Sonnenstrahl, but as I told David, I want only to see Teufel removed from power. Whatever I can do to help, I will do it."
"Take me to Sonnenstrahl," Sasha said. "That other one—Karl?—seemed to think that you could get through the gates."
"I can," Fritz said.
David frowned. "Achim said only the Priest of Night and Day could get through the gates without having to kill all the Great Sentinels."
"Achim?" Fritz whispered, skin leeching of color. "Not Achim, Priest of Night. He commanded the Final Hour of the night. How do you know Achim?"
"How do you?" Sasha asked.
Fritz sighed and shoved his teacup away. "I know Achim because once upon a time I handpicked him as a Priest of Night. I am all that remains of the Priest of Night and Day. I am a very feeble shadow of the Seer I used to be, but enough of my power remains that I can get us through the gate. Achim …?"
"Was one of the Great Sentinels. He says they were all cursed so and the one called the Wanderer was a captain of the guard."
Grief filled Fritz's face. "You knew and you didn't tell me," he whispered. "Why didn't you tell me? Don't tell me you couldn't! Light, Drache—" He broke off with a snarl.
David stared at him wide-eyed, then looked at Sasha, who only shook his head. When he looked back at Fritz, the agony on his face wrenched at David's gut. "Are you all right, Fritz?"
"I—" Fritz slumped. "Forgive me. I am not normally so stupid. Hearing what you just told me was a nasty shock. As I said, I am only a shadow of my former self. Nine centuries ago I was Ehrlich, the Priest of Night and Day. My memories are incomplete and what little is told to me is …" He sighed, then finally said, "It is told to me by a voice that has always lived in my head. I call him Drache. I believe he is a memory of me, or something like that, though I could not tell you why I see my own memories in such fashion. He also insists there are things he is
not
able to tell me, no matter how much he wishes."
"Achim said something like that," David said. "That they—the Great Sentinels, I mean—knew very little, but could not speak of what they knew because Teufel prevented it. So, um, Drache is probably affected the same way?"
Fritz looked at him in disbelief—and with so much
relief
that it almost hurt to look at it. "Thank you for not calling me crazy. I have never spoken of Drache before. Sometimes I call myself crazy." He stared at his tea and gave a bitter laugh. "Certainly of late I have not been sane."
"The Seers of Sonnenstrahl were once the most powerful magic users in the world," Sasha said softly. "The Priest of Night and Day had only two equals: the Priest of Ashes and the Priest of Storms. It was said that the Priest of Night and Day could see all the threads of fate, could see past, present, and future at will. Back then, they called him wise, not mad. I do not see how that has changed."
"Oh, I think I must have always been mad," Fritz said with a reluctant smile. "I was simply better at hiding it back then. Why else would I have been stupid enough to become the plaything of someone as treacherous as Teufel?"
David sipped at his tea before he said hesitantly, "Did you have a choice? If you hadn't been his …" He struggled for a minute to remember the word Achim had used, "His paramour what would he have done?"
"Used somebody else, somebody who could not handle it," Fritz replied with another sigh. "I only wish I could say that was my only reason, but I was hardly altruistic. I liked knowing he'd picked me, favored me. But one should never be happy to be favored by one such as that." Grimacing, he waved his hand, batting the discussion away. "We are not here to discuss the mistakes of my past. We are here to figure out how to kill Teufel. I hope you have a specific plan for that."
Sasha shook his head. "Not a single one. No one knows anything about him or Sonnenstrahl, so how could plans be made? I have power, however, and experience in dealing with gods … I think, anyway. I may not have a plan, but I have faith I will figure out the proper action to take. I will not have much choice, because eventually Teufel will come out of hiding to deal with me once and for all. He is not the sort to hide from a challenge forever."
Fritz frowned. "On the contrary, he is very much the type to hide. He's a shadow. Worse, he is now simply darkness. Do not assume that because he is quiet that he is not there waiting until your back is turned. It's dangerous enough out here, but Sonnenstrahl will be a nightmare."
"I understand," Sasha said. "When are we leaving?"
"Soon," Fritz said. "I would like to say now, but it's late. I also want to know that I am leaving the temple in good hands on the chance—the very likely chance—that I will not return. We should be ready to leave at first light, however. Your room—"
He stopped when an urgent series of knocks came at the door and called for the knocker to enter. "High Seer, the Master Seer is causing problems—he's already hurt several people—"
"I'm coming," Fritz said and left the room.
Sasha shook his head. "For a temple, this place is remarkably out of control. Then again, it sounds like it has been ravaged by problems from within and without. I hope they are able to set all to rights once this is over."
"He told me my fate," David said suddenly. "I—it doesn't make any sense to me. That I have a dark soul and have to make a choice. Do I really have a dark soul? Am I—what's wrong with me? What choice do I have to make?"